Your school has now made the decision to apply for National Healthy School Status and will be confident it can demonstrate, how it is meeting the programme's criteria and outcomes for each of the core themes through a whole school approach.

The next step is to send in the signed sheet, which can be found on page 3 of the Self Review Audit to your local Healthy Schools Programme. This will need to be signed off by the Headteacher, Chair of Governors, Chair of the PTA or equivalent and the school council . It will indicate that there is whole school agreement as part of its on-going commitment to being a Healthy School, that the school has addressed all the Healthy Schools criteria and can meet the associated evidence requirements.

The sheet can be downloaded from the programmes website www.kenthealthyschools.org.uk or ask your local Healthy Schools specilaist for a copy. The majority of schools will undertake self validation, however the local healthy schools programme also needs to ensure a minimum of 10% of schools are visited for Quality Assurances purposes and will also visit schools if further clarification is needed regarding their application for validation.

What does validation mean?

• Schools should ask for guidance from their local team about how they can record and demonstrate that they are meeting the criteria outlined across the four core themes, from completing the initial self review audit through to applying for validation. This should be an ongoing process and your initial audit document will become a working document, updated to record your progress. Your Healthy School specialist will be happy to talk you through this process and there is further information on the Kent Healthy Schools website.
  
  
• Over time the school will build a record of progress towards achieving Healthy School Status by recording evidence against each of the criteria as they are addressed and built into school practice.
  
  
• The Cluster team and the local Healthy Schools team can provide on-going support and advice and identify specific training to help your school work address specific areas.
  
  
• When your school feels it has satisfied the criteria and has built up a written record of the outcomes it has achieved against each of these it will be in a position to apply for self validation.
  
  
• The local and national programme requires the sheet signed by key members of your school community. This is a statement that the school has addressed all the Healthy Schools criteria and has a record that demonstrates all the outcomes have been met. This should be in the form of a completed self review document. Schools are not asked to submit this document at this stage but it should be available in school for Quality Assurance purposes.
  
  
• Once the application has been received it will be forwarded to members of your Clusters Healthy Schools Panel. A decision will then be made if validation will be through endorsement by the cluster panel or via a school visit by up to three members of the panel for Quality Assurance purposes.
  
  
• The Cluster Healthy Schools Panel is made up of health and education professionals who work day to day with schools in that cluster. This could include Local Education Officers, Healthy School's specialists and other professionals such as school nurses and dieticians, members of the School Advisory Service, School Improvement Partners, Community School Development Managers, Partnership Development Managers, Educational Psychologists and members of the Cluster Board.
  
  
• A representative from the school involved in developing and delivering this work, such as the school co-ordinator, headteacher or a member of the Senior Leadership Team, will be invited to take part in the panel meeting, although this is not compulsory to discuss the schools application and share good practice.
  
  
• If the panel feels they need further information or clarification regarding specific issues then a visit may be requested, otherwise the school will be awarded Healthy School Status.

• Following the panel meeting your school may be notified that a half-day visit by a small team, including the local Healthy School specialist will take place. This could be for Quality Assurances purposes as 10% of all schools will need to be visited or to seek further clarification regarding the evidence you have supplied to the Cluster Panel.
  
  
• If a half day visit is requested, the local Healthy Schools Team will contact the school co-ordinator, arrange a convenient time and agree a schedule. Following the visit the Healthy Schools Team will complete a feedback form and copy this to the Headteacher and school co-ordinator.

The Headteacher and school co-ordinator will be notified of the outcome of the Cluster Panel meeting or the school visit within ten days of them taking place.

Schools that achieve Healthy School Status will receive a framed certificate and be able to use the national logo and refer to themselves as part of the National Healthy School Programme. Their details will also be logged onto the National Healthy Schools Programme Database. Schools will also be encouraged and supported to celebrate their success across the school, its local community and within the Cluster.

The school will retain National Healthy School Status for 3 years. The Local Healthy Schools Programme will receive final national guidance on implementing validation in the Autumn term. Aspects of the process may be refined to bring our work in line with this guidance but this will not affect schools who have already undertaken the current process.

 Additional Information

• Healthy Schools Validation Sheet